Thai Water and Flood scheme: Govt to sign contracts after public forum

[webfact]

Govt to sign contracts after public forum
Anaphat Deechuay
The Nation

Deals under Bt350-bn water and flood scheme set to be finalised in January

BANGKOK: -- The government is expected to sign water-project contracts with four contractors in January, following the completion of the nationwide public forum to be held in those provinces affected by the water projects.

The signing of the contracts, under the Bt350-billion water and flood management scheme, has been delayed on the Administrative Court's order to enable those affected by the water projects to take part in the public forum - expected to begin on October 15 and to be completed within two months.

National Water and Flood Management Policy secretary-general Suphot Tovichakchaikul said the public forum would be conducted in 36 provinces affected by the water projects under the government's mega-scheme.

The first forum to be held in Lamphun at Jakkhamkhanathorn School is scheduled to be wrapped up by December 6. The government will then spend another 15 days going over the views of those people in the communities where the water projects will be launched, before signing deals with the contractors in the province.

A public education campaign explaining the scheme via TV commercials and the print media will also be launched.

In addition, an opinion survey conducted by the PM's Office Ministry will be carried out via pollster Suan Dusit. Both the forum and the survey will be completed using the Bt184-milllion budget approved by the Cabinet.

The survey questionnaire will be published after the "orientation process" is completed and distributed through schools, local administrative bodies and provincial offices of the Department of Disaster Prevention and Mitigation.

The prospective format of the questionnaire will require more than just a simple "yes" or "no" with questions phrased to encourage respondents to write down what they think about the entire scheme.

"There will be boxes for respondents to check their approval ratings, such as 'totally agree', 'partly agree' or 'totally disagree'," Suphot said.

Details on modules to be available

Two to three pages of details will be provided on nine individual project modules, so respondents can post their approval ratings on the questionnaire.

The Suan Dusit Poll, which will take about 15 days to compete, will be launched after the first public forum ends on December 6.

The results of the poll are expected to be announced by December 22 at the latest, once the poll's raw data has been processed, said Suphot.

Under each of the questionnaire's nine modules, committees will be set up to compare and analyse positive and negative feedback.

Using the feedback further options will be considered by the committees, including measures to lessen the potential impact of the water projects on the local communities, Suphot added.

In a related development, Suphot said next week he would also invite Seub Nakhasathien Foundation secretary-general Sasin Chalermlarp, to give his opinion on the controversial Nakhon Sawan Mae Wong Dam.


-- The Nation 2013-10-05

[worgeordie]

Does this mean the Government has just wasted Bht184 Million !, on conducting

surveys and public forums, but it seems the Government is not going to listen

to the people,even if the public rejects all these projects,they will still sign the

contracts in January 2014.anyway.

regards Worgeordie

[Halion]

Who are these 4 contractors and what are their credentials. Has due diligence been conducted regard their ability to provide such service. These are questions that the public has a right to know.

[trainman34014]

Question is...how much of the 350 billion Baht is left in the kitty at this point....and when we get to January how long will the next delay be whilst the remnants vanish ? Chances are the project will get started by 2018 but not have enough left in the pot to get very far, so the whole thong will be abandoned. Just sayin'.

[zakk9]

It's been two years and the country is submerged again

[ratcatcher]

Who are these 4 contractors and what are their credentials. Has due diligence been conducted regard their ability to provide such service. These are questions that the public has a right to know.

"These are questions that the public has a right to know. "

You must be joking?

Providing satisfactory answers from a government that are masters in the art of obfuscation, white lies and double talk?

[Valentine]

The forums are only being conducted because of an order from the Administrative Court but if the government had any common decency & respect for the people they represent then these forums could have been held shortly after the flooding 2 years ago when all the talk about grand flood prevention projects started. Makes it seem like the government have nothing but contempt for the people & their livelihoods.

[zakk9]

The forums are only being conducted because of an order from the Administrative Court but if the government had any common decency & respect for the people they represent then these forums could have been held shortly after the flooding 2 years ago when all the talk about grand flood prevention projects started. Makes it seem like the government have nothing but contempt for the people & their livelihoods.

This is just a way to postpone it all, hoping that eventually, people won't notice the billions that strangely have disappeared along the way.

[ignis]

It's been two years and the country is submerged again

Will there be any Baht left in the kitty after this new home owners payouts, and the warning is up to 2m high water coming South to BKK by mid October, so a few more million homes will get flooded.

[MaxLee]

"BANGKOK: -- The government is expected to sign water-project contracts with four contractors in January, following the completion of the nationwide public forum to be held in those provinces affected by the water projects."

Literal meaning kept simple: "We're gonna pull it off anyway, dear people of Thailand, screw you, shit up. You've got no right to complain, get out of the way, or we'll have you shot by our secret staging Snipers"

In fact I remember one environmental guy in the past was "mysteriously shot", and who knows whether the Maewong Environmetalist, whose TV interview was censored will be next...

[soi41]

If I read this correctly, they are going to conduct a survey, evaluate the the responses, and no matter the result, go ahead and sign the contracts a few weeks later??

I am sure that this procedure will come as a relief for ITD, STEC and CK, who have already made their "deposits" into certain offshore accounts, to make sure, they will be the "chosen ones"!

I have never seen or heard about a government anywhere in the world, who are so shameless!

[LuckyLew]

2 years after the big flood in Thailand and they are still at this point

What a disgrace, by the time the contracts get signed the PTP will have to announce "sorry we have spent the 350 Million making sure all PTP MP's house are water proof and safe from flooding"

[Jack007]

First they start democratic with a public forum.
Than they choose 4 Asian companies.
Their experience with flood or water projects is not important but the money they give under table to the Thai representive is important (money-flow)

There will not come a perfect system for flood, but many too expensive systems.
My solution:
A few big and deep rivers from the North to Bangkok and aside Bangkok a channel or a big sewer with pressure to the sea, which end 300 meter in the sea, so you have no problem with spring tide.
In the North province comes big sewer (10 meters in diameter) which bring te water to the river.


What will happen:
The Thai population will bring the water with buckets to the sea, because the Thai entrepreneur or representive will the investments flood in their own pocket.

No confidence in a good outcome of this gigantic project

Edited October 13, 2013 by metisdead
Large font reset to normal, please stop posting using overly large font.

[hellodolly]

"The first forum to be held in Lamphun at Jakkhamkhanathorn School is scheduled to be wrapped up by December 6. The government will then spend another 15 days going over the views of those people in the communities where the water projects will be launched, before signing deals with the contractors in the province."

They will go over the views and then sign the contracts.

What;s the use if they are going to sign the contracts any how?

"In addition, an opinion survey conducted by the PM's Office Ministry will be carried out via pollster Suan Dusit. Both the forum and the survey will be completed using the Bt184-milllion budget approved by the Cabinet."

Aren't they the ones with what answer do you want we have a couple of thousand people on stand by to give you those answers?

"The prospective format of the questionnaire will require more than just a simple "yes" or "no" with questions phrased to encourage respondents to write down what they think about the entire scheme."

Seems to me they should stick to the issues at hand. Mainly the concerns of the area they are in. They are just trying to confuse the issue by throwing the whole plan at a local population and none of the down side found in other areas. Just one big wonderful happy family who know each other and the problems they face and the tools they have to work with.

"There will be boxes for respondents to check their approval ratings, such as 'totally agree', 'partly agree' or 'totally disagree'," Suphot said."

No place for why you disagree

"The Suan Dusit Poll, which will take about 15 days to compete, will be launched after the first public forum ends on December 6."

It will take 15 days to complete and be launched after Dec, 6. In other words it is going to be launched no matter what the public forum brings out.

"Using the feedback further options will be considered by the committees, including measures to lessen the potential impact of the water projects on the local communities, Suphot added."

In other words it will be the way they want it to be. No consideration on the environmental factors. What about the environmental factors in the areas where all the wild life will be driven. What about the benefits of reforestation?

Thailand should have a huge sign painted and ads running in all the world's news paper's. Responsible reliable Government needed.

[Baerboxer]

Who are these 4 contractors and what are their credentials. Has due diligence been conducted regard their ability to provide such service. These are questions that the public has a right to know.

I'm sure they have been thoroughly vetted and checked for their skill, knowledge, innovation and experiences in delivering highly successful projects in the past.

Dr. Thaksin, although a criminal fugitive fraudster, even kindly visited one Korean supplier to check them out. Even though scheming reactionaries keep him out of Thailand (not to mention the other outstanding criminal charges and pending jail sentence for the conviction) he has put himself out so his sisters government can benefit from his expert knowledge of water management suppliers and conducting transparent and fair tenders prior to awarding contracts.

The wishes of the people are not important - the government knows best. The irritating court ruling, that the law should be respected and followed, has led to the current pantomime. Nothing will change. All same, same.